Sorry I forgot to pass this along when it came out. The Times’ review[1] of David Chang’s new midtown spot:

It is a strange feeling, sitting in Má Pêche on a Friday night, well underneath Midtown in the basement of the Chambers Hotel, Modest Mouse playing at half volume on the stereo system as people drink wine and talk and stab at sticky pork ribs with chopsticks. The seats at the restaurant have backs to them. They are comfortable. There is plenty of space.

There is nothing like this at the other restaurants in David Chang’s four-restaurant Momofuku confederation — of which Má Pêche is the newest, the largest and the first not located in the East Village. There is no extra space in the other Momofuku restaurants at all, no real creature comforts beyond the food and the service. There are just counters, nooks, sharp corners and little chance for intimate conversation, even at Momofuku Ko, which flies the standard of excellence for them all. (There, you just stare at the chefs and wait for the magic.)